The present invention is directed to a tool and process for installing a trim clip to a mounting surface. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a tool and process for ergonomically and cleanly transferring a trim clip from a storage element to the flange of a vehicle windshield and ensuring the melt clip is sufficiently seated thereto.
Trim clips can be used to attach a variety of trim pieces to different mounting surfaces, such as to different parts of a vehicle. Such clips are often installed to a vehicle at some point fairly early in the assembly process, such that they are present on the vehicle prior to the time the vehicle is subjected to a primer and or paint process.
Trim clips may also be attached to a vehicle by a number of methods. For example, such clips may have protruding portions that are designed to engage a receptacle on the vehicle. Commonly, however, such clips are attached to a vehicle by some form of adhesive.
In any event, certain installation criteria must be met regardless of trim clip design or the method used to attach the trim clip to a vehicle. Particularly, each trim clip must be securely attached to the vehicle and it must be attached in the proper location with the proper orientation. With respect to the installed location and orientation of a trim clip, it can be easily understood that if a trim clip is installed in the wrong location and/or in an incorrect orientation, the trim piece that the clip is designed to retain may not mate properly thereto. In the case of adhesive-employing trim clips, these criteria also generally require that the trim clip be pressed to the vehicle with sufficient force to set the adhesive and that the adhesive not be contaminated prior to installation of the clip to the vehicle.
Depending on the design, size, shape and/or other characteristics of the trim clip of interest and the location on the vehicle to which the trim clip is to be installed, meeting one or all of these criteria may be problematic. First, adhesive-backed trim clips require that a sufficient amount pressure be exerted thereupon during installation to the vehicle. Absent the exertion of such pressure, it is quite possible that the trim clip will not be sufficiently adhered to the vehicle, and may become dislodged. Further, and in support of proper adhesive-backed trim clip installation, the clip must typically be transferred to the vehicle with little or no contamination to the adhesive layer. In addition, there is often little or no indication on the vehicle as to the proper location and/or orientation of the trim clip. And, indicating marks or other location aids that are present can easily be covered by corrosion resistant coatings, primer, paint, or various other substances.
Meeting these criteria may be difficult for several reasons. For example, trim clips are commonly installed to a vehicle by hand. However, the design, size, shape and/or other characteristics of a given trim clip can make grasping and or installing the trim clip by hand very difficult—particularly if a worker must wear gloves. This situation can be compounded by the need to place a trim clip in a hard to reach location on/in the vehicle.
Repeated application of trim clips with adequate setting force can also lead to excessive hand stress. This predicament may be due to the exertion of force and the need to repeatedly install a considerable number of clips during each work period. Further, it is generally difficult for a worker to judge whether a clip has been set with sufficient force, which may lead to the use of inadequate or excessive force.
The process of manually installing trim clips also lends itself to the contamination of the adhesive backing. Workers in an industrial setting will commonly have grease, oil or other contaminants present on their hands. Even worse, they may be required to wear gloves where such substances may collect over time. Transfer of such substances to the adhesive backing of a trim clip can adversely affect its ability to adhere to a vehicle surface.
Thus, for these and other reasons it is desirable to employ a tool and a process that allows a user to install a trim clip to a vehicle quickly and easily, and in a clean and ergonomically friendly manner. Preferably, the tool and process also allows a trim clip to be automatically set with a proper amount of force, thereby eliminating the need for the user to speculate as to the level of force being applied. It is also desirable that the tool and process allow for a trim clip to be transferred directly from a shipping or storage medium to a vehicle, thereby minimizing the opportunity for contamination of the adhesive backing.